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A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for the one who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it.
Isaiah 35:8 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB A highway will be there, a road, and it will be called The Holy Way. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it will be for those who walk in the Way. Wicked fools will not go there.
  • KJV And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
  • BSB And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.
  • NKJV A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray.
  • NLT And a great road will go through that once deserted land. It will be named the Highway of Holiness. Evil-minded people will never travel on it. It will be only for those who walk in God’s ways; fools will never walk there.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

A holy highway will be set apart for the redeemed, on which the unclean and foolish cannot travel.

Overview

Isaiah envisions a clear, consecrated road called The Holy Way, reserved for God's people to walk in safety and holiness. The way is marked by purity, excluding what is unclean. It pictures the path of salvation God provides, ultimately revealed in Christ, who is the way to the Father (John 14:6).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 40

  • Matt 7:13–14“Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it.
  • Isa 42:16I will bring the blind by a way that they don’t know. I will lead them in paths that they don’t know. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. I will do these things, and I will not forsake them.
  • John 14:6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
  • Rev 21:27There will in no way enter into it anything profane, or one who causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
  • 1 Pet 1:14–15as children of obedience, not conforming yourselves according to your former lusts as in your ignorance,
  • Heb 10:20–23by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
  • 2 Tim 1:9who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before times eternal,
  • 1 Pet 2:9–10But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:
  • Heb 12:14Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man will see the Lord,
  • Titus 2:11–14For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,
  • Jer 31:21“Set up road signs, make guideposts; set your heart toward the highway, even the way by which you went: turn again, virgin of Israel, turn again to these your cities.
  • Isa 30:21and when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way. Walk in it.”
  • Ezek 44:9Thus says the Lord Yahweh, No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any foreigners who are among the children of Israel.
  • 1 Th 4:7For God called us not for uncleanness, but in sanctification.
  • Jer 32:39–40and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their good, and of their children after them:
  • Isa 60:21Then your people will all be righteous. They will inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
  • Ps 25:8–9Good and upright is Yahweh, therefore he will instruct sinners in the way.
  • Prov 4:18But the path of the righteous is like the dawning light, that shines more and more until the perfect day.
  • Eph 2:10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
  • Jer 50:4–5“In those days, and in that time,” says Yahweh, “the children of Israel will come, they and the children of Judah together; they will go on their way weeping, and will seek Yahweh their God.
  • Isa 62:10Go through, go through the gates! Prepare the way of the people! Build up, build up the highway! Gather out the stones! Lift up a banner for the peoples.
  • Joel 3:17“So you will know that I am Yahweh, your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy, and no strangers will pass through her any more.
  • Rev 7:15–17Therefore they are before the throne of God, they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tabernacle over them.
  • Isa 4:3It will happen, that he who is left in Zion, and he who remains in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even everyone who is written among the living in Jerusalem;
  • Isa 49:10–12They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun strike them: for he who has mercy on them will lead them. He will guide them by springs of water.
  • Prov 8:20I walk in the way of righteousness, in the middle of the paths of justice;
  • Ps 19:7Yahweh’s law is perfect, restoring the soul. Yahweh’s testimony is sure, making wise the simple.
  • Isa 57:14He will say, “Build up, build up, prepare the way! Remove the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.”
  • Isa 40:3–4The voice of one who calls out, “Prepare the way of Yahweh in the wilderness! Make a level highway in the desert for our God.
  • Ps 119:130The entrance of your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple.
  • John 7:17If anyone desires to do his will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is from God, or if I am speaking from myself.
  • Ps 23:4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
  • 2 Pet 3:13But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
  • Isa 33:8The highways are desolate. The traveling man ceases. The covenant is broken. He has despised the cities. He doesn’t respect man.
  • Isa 11:16There will be a highway for the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, like there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
  • Ezek 43:12This is the law of the house: on the top of the mountain the whole limit around it shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
  • Isa 52:11Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing! Go out from among her! Cleanse yourselves, you who carry Yahweh’s vessels.
  • Isa 19:23In that day there will be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria; and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.
  • Isa 52:1Awake, awake! Put on your strength, Zion. Put on your beautiful garments, Jerusalem, the holy city: for from now on the uncircumcised and the unclean will no more come into you.
  • 1 Jn 2:20You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 35:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).

How Isaiah 35:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.